Facing Life

by Cheryl Merrick

Armed with only
a large shield,
I cowered behind
its protection,
til, supplied with a 
plethora of apt tools,
I stood forth to
courageously confront
the challenges of life.

Letting Go

by Cheryl Merrick

The time has come
for letting go
of hopes, dreams,
and yearnings
for a relationship
which can not be
in this life.

The time has come
for letting go 
of old lingering hurts,
for ending the manipulation,
and for ceasing to enable 
another to demean me.

Making Whole

by Cheryl Merrick

Though I sorrow 
for the prison you are in
and know you did not choose it,
I am powerless to release you.

Only by opening the door
to Him who stands and knocks
can you be freed.

Only He has the power
to make you whole 
and heal your broken
heart and mind.

Twisted Legacy

by Cheryl Merrick

Lacking a sense of self,
the child-mothers
cling to their daughters.

Frightened by a world
they have no skills
to cope with,
like drowning persons,
they frantically claw their way
up the souls of their daughters.

Lesson from the Elephant

by Cheryl Merrick

Firmly tied to a stake,

the baby elephant

struggles to free himself.

After days of effort, 

the exhausted baby,

surrenders to the belief 

that it can never 

free itself.

Finally grown,

though the adult elephant

now possesses 

immense strength,

it still allows itself 

to be bound by,

its now non-applicable,

childhood memories.